UI men's tennis coach heading Down Under--The News-Gazette Online

The News-Gazette Online: UI men's tennis coach heading Down Under----
Time for me to weigh in on the news that Craig Tiley is leaving the University of Illinois to take the newly created position of Director of Player Development with Tennis Australia.


According to this AP story, Tiley had turned down the offer recently, which may account for the rumors swirling at the NCAAs late last month about his possible departure. From my few conversations with him, I know that he's not coy, and I suspected, as apparently did his AD and others, that he wasn't going to stay at Illinois forever. In fact, I believe he told me as much when I interviewed him for my story on Scott Oudsema last November.

His stint as South African Davis Cup Captain was also a clue that his ambitions exceeded the realm of college tennis. And why not? Although nothing he can do in Australia can approach the rags-to-riches empire building he did at Illinois, he will be doing it for an entire country, not a state university, with the requisite increase in money and talent that demographic implies. And I can't imagine anyone would look back wistfully on the onerous and often picayune NCAA regulations for student-athletes or the small number of scholarships available (in men's tennis 4 1/2).

For those not fully conversant with the miraculous creation of a tennis powerhouse that Tiley fashioned at Illinois, I'm happy to direct you to this 2003 story by Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated, written prior to Illinois winning the National Championship. Wertheim followed up on it with another story last spring, but you must be a Sports Illustrated subscriber to read it online.

There are now questions to be asked-- who will take over for Tiley? (associate coach Brad Dancer, I hope--he says he's interested); what is Tiley's plan for getting Australian juniors back in the international elite? (whatever it is, I'm predicting it will be widely copied).

And the question that occurred to me earlier today--couldn't the USTA have found a similar position for Tiley, who is vice chair of USTA High Performance committee?

I understand they tried--here is the job posting dated yesterday, for a new position that Tiley was offered. Whatever counteroffer Tennis Australia floated obviously tilted the scales to them, but I'm only mildly disappointed that he won't be developing talent in the U.S. Tiley has contributed so much to college tennis here in the United States, has demonstrated so vividly how a passionate and adept leader can change a culture, that he deserves a grander stage, wherever it leads him. I know the sport of tennis will be the ultimate beneficiary of his love for the game.